The US, UK and Australian markets were Xbox strongholds during the previous generation of consoles, and the gap between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has always been smaller in these territories than has been the case in other European, Eastern and emerging markets.

Nevertheless, PS4 remains the top-selling machines even in these traditional 'Xbox' markets.

Microsoft has enjoyed some strong momentum in the US since its E3 showing in June, boosted by the arrival of Xbox One S and a handful of exclusives, including Gears of War 4.

PlayStation will be hoping it can reclaim its position in November, with the arrival of PS4 Pro and the launch of third-party games that the firm has backed - including Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Watch Dogs 2.

"Thanks to the passion of Xbox fans worldwide and their continued excitement for Xbox One S, Xbox One was once again the best-selling console in October in the US, U.K. and Australia according to NPD Group and GfK Entertainment," Xbox's head of marketing Mike Nichols said in a statement. "Xbox One has been the best-selling console in the U.S. for the past four months, and in the U.K. and Australia in each of the last two months."

Nichols added that Gears of War 4 is the 'No.1 platform exclusive' for October according to GfK and NPD. However, that statistic is pretty meaningless as most other platform exclusives released last month were either for Wii U or PlayStation VR - which both have significantly lower install bases.

Sign up for The UK Publishing & Retail newsletter and get the best of GamesIndustry.biz in your inbox.